Suicide: A very personal issue
THE mental health of New Zealanders has been under close scrutiny for several years with plans being made and rejected.
Earlier this year, comedian and television personality Mike King let rip at the previous government’s draft suicide prevention strategy as he resigned in a very public way from the suicideprevention panel.
Seven months on, New Zealand is facing more talk and little action on youth suicide and it has become very political.
It is no secret Health Minister David Clark and former health minister Jonathan Coleman had very little respect for each other. With the roles in government reversed, Dr Clark has given a lengthy interview saying funding and priority shortfalls by the previous government led to more victims of suicide.
In response, Dr Coleman says he will hold Dr Clark to account if New Zealand’s suicide rate does not drop.
The latest suicide statistics show 606 people took their lives in the past year. The rate has remained largely static for the past 10 years.
Just as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern pledged to personally reduce child poverty in New Zealand, Dr Clark has seemingly made a reduction in suicide a personal target. He will face intense scrutiny on his actions and be asked in Parliament how many people he has personally stopped from taking their own lives. This is a burden of his own making, although one with the best intentions.
Dr Clark is critical of Dr Coleman and the previous government saying officials were frus trated over the failure to develop a new suicide prevention strategy after the previous one expired in 2016.
In response, Dr Coleman is surprised Dr Clark is personalising the issue.
The shameful exchanges between Drs Clark and Coleman hide the horror of suicide, particularly when young people can see no future and turn to taking their own lives. Their deaths leave behind a trail of guilt and recrimination by all they were in contact with during their short lives. Family and friends are left wondering what if . . . ?
This week, a doctor suggested New Zealand is being over medicated and it was easier to reach for a pill than do something practical like exercise.
Although that may sound simplistic, families need to ensure they remain alert to the symptoms being shown by its members. New Zealanders are outdoors people but pressures of work often mean people bury themselves in an office in front of a flickering screen for long periods.
Young people unable to see a career pathway turn to video games, or to spending long hours on their phone — in the dark and without the love and support of family members. This is not healthy.
New Zealand has become a partly insular society where we just do not care about others as much as we used to.
Labour campaigned on mental health and pledged the return of the mental health commissioner and an inquiry.
Terms of reference and other details around the inquiry are yet to be settled but are likely to consider issues including the aftereffects of colonisation, poverty and personal trauma.
Dr Clark thinks there needs to be a public conversation about suicide, challenging the media to cover stories of survival and recovery rather than dwelling only on those who have taken their lives.
New Zealand has talked a lot about suicide. Media organisations have made representations to authorities on how suicide is reported publicly.
More talking is not going to remove the stain on the conscience of the nation. It is time for action.
Dr Clark has set a personal target, one which will be very difficult to achieve. He must quickly make progress in reducing the number of people taking their own lives. Otherwise, every family which experiences the selfinflicted death of a loved one will wonder why they have to suffer.